Abandoned
by Charmed-Jinx
Summary: Sequel to MOONLIGHT. Katniss is determined to throw the Capitol's own demented ways back in their face, and Peeta is determined to protect her along the way, just as he promised Haymitch. T for safety. Please R&R! **PROLOGUE UPDATED**


**Hey all! I'm back with another story for ya! But just to clarify, this is the _SEQUEL to MOONLIGHT!_ So go read that first before you go reading this one. Otherwise you might be a bit confused. It picks up immediately where that one left off. SO GO! Go read it! And then you can come back here and read. Ok? Ok.**

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Last paragraph in Moonlight, to get you started:

I nuzzled my face into his chest and let a smile escape my lips. I kissed his shirt there, and he kissed the top of my head. Sleep overtook us quickly. Tomorrow we would sort through the business with the Capitol and all the trouble they could be brewing at this very moment. But right now all that mattered was the two of us. This new strength would help us get through whatever came our way. I wasn't ever too sure of too many things in my life, being that so many things are given and then taken swiftly away, as evidenced by my father's death years ago—but I knew I could do just about anything as long as I had Peeta beside me. And that truly put calm in my heart.

I finally drifted off to sleep...

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_Daylight was breaking through the treetops, stinging my eyes with its intensity. I blinked quickly and felt my eyes water a bit as they adjusted to the light. I felt groggy. Peeta held his hand out to me and I took it so he could help me to my feet. We brushed ourselves off and thought it best to be on our way and in a hurry too._

_We started off at a steady pace, then once we were feeling energized enough, we started walking faster. Soon that brisk walk turned to a jog—then the jog to a run. Before we knew it we were racing through the woods, leaping over logs and dodging between the trees. It was exhilarating. The fresh air was nice as it helped me to clear my head. Peeta and I were silent during our sprint back to the Seam, but we would glance at each other every so often and manage a small smile._

_Soon we were within yards of the edge of the woods, where the Seam began. I slowed down and Peeta did too. We were pretty sure no one would be looking for us out here this early in the morning—it had to be about six or so, but it was a precaution. You never know who could be lurking around the outer edges of District 12._

_I looked ahead of me and saw the end of the woods—the tunnel we were leaving, so to speak. I stopped and looked over at Peeta. Both of us were out of breath._

_"How do you think we should go about this?" he asked me. We were sneaking back into the District because some unknown trouble was brewing and there were people waiting for us at both our houses. I was sure of it. After they came to find us in the woods last night, I was convinced we were in a whole lot of trouble. The kind only the Capitol could be responsible for._

_I shrugged. "I know a shortcut. Come on." I led him around the edge of the trees, where we were still invisible to anyone that might be within ear shot in the Seam. A few yards down, and I found an opening in the fence that we could slip through undetected. The fencing was a little tight, so after making sure the power wasn't on, I pulled it back so Peeta could pass through. Then I followed after him._

_Once we were through the fence, everything felt different. I listened for sounds, but couldn't hear a thing. No shuffling of footsteps belonging to those looking for us. No whispers. It was odd—our District is never this quiet. I grabbed Peeta's arm to slow him down and put a finger to my lips._

_"Something's wrong." I said._

_His forehead creased just between his eyes and he nodded._

_I walked ahead, very slowly, and led us behind a couple old abandoned buildings and stopped again to listen. Still nothing. My heart rate was speeding up and I was getting nervous. I started walking faster with Peeta following close behind. The narrow walkway behind the buildings ended and I darted out into the sunlight. Then I looked around and realized the reason for the silence._

_Nothing was wrong—absolutely nothing._

_"What's going on?" Peeta asked me. I glanced at him and saw that he was taking it all in, as was I._

_I was stunned. I took in my surroundings and couldn't believe what I was seeing—or not seeing. There wasn't a single Peacekeeper in sight. Everywhere I looked appeared to be the opposite as we left it just last night._

_The sun was shining on the edges of the Seam, where we were. The grasses were green, and you could see smoke floating out of just about every chimney in the District. It even smelled different. I looked down at my feet and instead of seeing a layer of coal dust, which was extremely cumbersome for those in the Seam, I saw that the paved stones beneath my feet were clean as if they were swept regularly._

_My head snapped back up and I looked at Peeta. "I have no idea what's going on. This can't be happening."_

_I took his hand and after lacing our fingers together, we started slowly walking to the square. Surely something had to be going on there. This had to be a trap._

_We didn't pass a single soul on our way there, but once we reached it, we both stopped abruptly and stared dumbfounded in front of us._

_Just about every merchant in town had a stall set up in the square, and the stalls circled around the entire area. There were people everywhere, buying various things from the stands. I turned in place and looked around me. Every shop was open; people were conversing with each other and going on their merry way. They didn't even seem to notice us—instead they just walked around us as if we were invisible. Surely that can't be possible. We caused more trouble together than anyone else in the entire District could ever dream of._

_"This is weird." Peeta leaned in and whispered in my ear._

_I nodded and then noticed something that looked entirely out of place. Everyone looked happy. __That can't be right._

_Slowly we moved forward into the square, to take a look at things. I kept turning around expecting to see Peacekeepers after us, ready to take us away, but there were none. It was as if they just left. But that can't be possible. The Capitol was still infuriated with me._

_"Katniss!"_

_I heard my name and turned around until I spotted who it was. Gale. He was running toward me with a strange look on his face. I startled at seeing him and backed into Peeta on accident. I'm pretty sure I stepped on his foot. But he just put his hands on my shoulders to steady me, and kept silent. I could only imagine with the expression on his face was like._

_Gale finally made it to me and reached out to take my hands._

_"Where have you been? Everyone's been looking for you!" he said out of breath—but he, too, was smiling. This was really starting to freak me out._

_"What are you talking about—Gale, what's going on around here?" I was so confused I didn't even know which questions should come first._

_He just laughed. "Ha-ha. Very funny. Look, everyone's waiting for you. You better get in there before they get started late."_

_I shook my head and then ripped my hands from Gale's, only to place them on his shoulders so I could jerk him awake in a way. "I don't understand what you're going on about!" I was starting to get frustrated. "Gale Hawthorne, you better tell me what's going on or—"_

_"Would you relax?" he asked._

_"Don't tell her to relax." Chimed in Peeta._

_Gale barely glanced at him before looking back at me. He took my hand and started to haul me through the square. I grabbed onto Peeta before I lost him, and the three of us moved swiftly to the bottom of the stairs to the Justice Building. Gale finally stopped and looked at me with an amused expression._

_"Go on up. They can't wait to hear about your plans for the new government."_

_Okay, that was definitely not what I was expecting to come out of Gale's mouth. "New government?"_

_Gale looked at me with the most bizarre expression, and the corners of his mouth started to turn up into that grin of his that he usually only got when he was trying to convince me of my own stupidity._

_"Oh come on. Don't tell me you ran out of time again. Get in there before they come out and scream at me. I've been looking for you all night!"_

_I couldn't move. I had no idea what was going on, or how this talk of a new government even became legal talk in the middle of the square. The Capitol sees and hears everything. This would not go over well. When I didn't say anything, Gale spoke up again._

_"Did you hit your head or something?" he asked me._

_I looked at Peeta, but he was just as confused as I was. At least I knew it wasn't just me. I shook my head._

_"Well either way. They need to see your plans, and then they want to talk about what to do with the Capitol property."_

_"The what?" Came out of mine and Peeta's mouths at the exact same moment. We sounded like a chorus._

_Gale finally stopped smiling and actually looked frustrated with me now. I can't imagine why. None of this made sense. "Either you need more sleep or you've totally lost it. Just get in there and they'll get the whole meeting started. I'm going to see if Prim's done with her candy shopping. See you later." He waved us off and left us both standing at the bottom of the steps, staring at each other._

_"Something must have happened—" I started, but Peeta cut me off._

_"Gale just told us the Capitol is gone."_

_We stood there a moment and then looked around us. Suddenly everyone's behavior was making sense. If the Capitol was gone, that would explain the happy faces we were seeing, the abundance of shop owners selling their goods, and the laughter of the children everywhere. The District was cleaned up, no longer looking like the run down coal shaft it had appeared to be for decades. This place looked like it was gift wrapped perfectly and just dropped out of the sky for us to enjoy. It was all wrong, but exciting at the same time. I felt like we missed a very important piece to the puzzle. This just didn't seem real, yet I couldn't quite place what the reason was for that feeling. I felt dizzy and cloudy like I couldn't quite get a grip on reality.  
_

_"Come on." I said, pulling on Peeta's arm roughly. We started racing up the steps and when we reached the top he stopped me._

_"Wait." He said, and then pulled me close. He placed the most gentle and loving kiss on my lips I had ever experienced. The fresh air swirled around us and I couldn't help but snake my arms around his neck and lose myself in this moment. It was too wonderful. Peeta was wonderful._

_He pulled away. "Well. I guess we better get you in there." He said with a smirk, and then he kissed my forehead. I couldn't help but smile back in response. I took his hand again and this time we walked slowly through the main courtyard until we reached the massive double doors. Peeta tucked my hair behind my ears and I pushed the doors open..._

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**Ok chapter one will be up shortly, so hang in there! Please review though! I love reading those. I like to know what you all are thinking! And I especially like to know if anyone is reading at all or enjoying this. Thanks! Speculate away!**


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